The seemingly-mythical Downtown grocery store may soon be one step closer to becoming a part of our reality.

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North America

Do your Friday night plans involve a pint of Ben and Jerry's and your DVR? If your answer is yes and you're psyched about that, I can dig it, but, if your answer is yes and you're not excited, here's a last-minute Friday night show announcement.

North America is back in town for the night and will perform at Sister (407 Central Avenue NW), along with Pancakes! and The Rip Torn. The 21-and-over fun begins at 9 p.m. and there's a $5 cover. Check out the below videos and weigh the costs and benefits of your current plans against rocking out at a killer show in a new Downtown venue.

More Videos

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• downtown
• north america
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Eric Williams ericwphoto.com

 

It wasn’t a good idea. We knew that at the time, but I guess we thought we would get away with it.

On March 23, 2011, Mike Smith and I took the bus down Central through Albuquerque’s neon-lit Downtown. We were headed toward the Anasazi building. At nine stories tall, it towered over other buildings on the block, and its pueblo-influenced, multitier design gave its dark, empty windows romantic intrigue. Could we get in? What was inside? What would it be like to be one of the few people who had looked out of those lofty windows?

Near the very top of its eastern face, there was a tantalizing sign that entry was possible: A graffiti rainbow coursed from the rooftop down the bare side. If that artist could get in, so could we. We didn’t think about what would happen if we got caught; we just wanted to see it from the inside.

lyzadanger / CC BY-SA 2.0

Mayor Richard Berry held a press conference this afternoon to announce plans for a Downtown grocery. He stood on the property where the store will be built, a 1-acre vacant lot on Silver between 2nd and 3rd Streets.

There’s not yet a national chain or local grocer selected to move in. Instead, the city will put out a request for proposals on Friday. Developers will have 120 days to respond. The mayor said he is confident there will be plenty of proposals.

Berry says he hopes this will be another successful Downtown public-private partnership like the Lofts at Albuquerque High and the Alvarado Transportation Center.

The city purchased the land in 2000 for $575,000. In 2003, the city removed six underground storage tanks so the property could be certified as free of any contamination. The mayor characterizes the parcel, which is flat and contains nothing but dirt and asphalt, as “a very buildable site.”

“Downtown needs a grocery store,” says Berry. “I’ve been hearing that since I took over as mayor. We’ve been hearing about this for years.”

This will come as welcome news to Downtown’s 10,000 residents and 30,000 workers. Once the lofts are completed across the street from the site, Berry speculates there will be 500 people living there who will make regular use of the grocery store.

There has not been a full-service grocery store in Downtown since the ’30s. The nearest option right now is a Lowe’s on 11th Street and Lomas.

• Yay Mayor Berry! (RuthPlum) [ Mon Jul 2 2012 3:53 PM ]
  
• sweet. (aw0L) [ Tue Jul 3 2012 5:01 PM ]
  

Nomadic Lass / CC BY-SA 2.0

 

We got word that a grocer is finally coming to Downtown Albuquerque. Rejoice! A spokesperson with the city wouldn’t confirm any details but said there’d be a press conference at the site of the coming store—north of Silver between Second and Third Streets—on Thursday at 1 p.m.

See you there.

• Yay! (Wednesday) [ Tue Jun 26 2012 4:38 PM ]
  
• Lowes grocery downtown will have liquor (fonduefork) [ Wed Jun 27 2012 4:57 PM ]
  
• About time! (mbear) [ Wed Jun 27 2012 5:45 PM ]
  

Take the Central bus out of Downtown until 1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

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• Yeah I laughed (batconnie) [ Mon May 7 2012 8:30 PM ]
  

Expanded weekend police presence in downtown Albuquerque.

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• HIS body, HIS decision (TLCTugger) [ Sun Mar 4 2012 9:40 PM ]